This invention relates generally to portable display modules, and more particularly to a modular easel which may be readily erected to accommodate flip chart pads or other material to be presented, the easel being joinable to like easels to create a free-standing display wall.
The traditional artist's easel takes the form of a tripod-like frame adapted to hold a canvas at a proper angle for a painter's convenience in working. Inasmuch as the usefulness of an easel is by no means limited to supporting a canvas, over the years it has evolved into a general-purpose support for various types of displays. Thus it is now the practice, in making so-called flip-chart presentations before an audience, to rest the flip-chart pad on an easel at an angle suitable for viewing.
The typical commercial easel, whether made of wood, metal, or plastic, is a relatively cumbersome structure which is somewhat difficult to erect or collapse. Moreover, the conventional easel has an appearance which can best be described as purely utilitarian and altogether lacking in aesthetic appeal.
Since flip-chart presentations are frequently made in the board rooms of major corporations, in university or government conference rooms and in other meeting places having impressive modern appointments, the presence of a typical utilitarian easel in this environment is incongruous and inelegant. Even where the presentation room has a conservative or traditional decor, the placement therein of a typical easel strikes a discordant, out-of-place note.
Furthermore, the typical easel is not well-suited for flip-chart presentations. In a flip-chart, a group of sheets or panels are loosely-bound together at their upper margins to form a pad so that one can readily turn over the top sheet, which then becomes the bottom sheet of the pad, thereby exposing the next sheet to view. A conventional easel is provided with a transverse shelf on which this pad is rested, the vertical position of the shelf being adjustable. Since flip-charts come in various sizes, the present practice requires adjustment of the shelf height to suit the dimensions of the pad. But when it becomes necessary to flip over a sheet, with existing easel designs it is usually necessary to lift the pad away from the easel to make room for the reversed sheet. One cannot simply turn the sheet over the easel itself so that no time is lost in presenting the next sheet to view.
Also, there are some situations where the material to be displayed is much broader than the short shelf of the typical easel, and it is then necessary to bring together two or more easels to support the material. An arrangement of this type is invariably improvised and somewhat insecure in that the several easels are independent of each other, and, unless they are all identical and set up at exactly the same angle, the resultant multi-easel assembly is quite shaky.